May 15, 2026
The Highest and Lowest Points in Every US State: A Complete Elevation Guide
From Denali at 20,310 feet to the Salton Sea at 227 feet below sea level, the United States contains extraordinary elevation extremes. Every state has a highest and lowest point, and the numbers tell a story about tectonics, erosion, glaciation, and deep geologic time. Here is the complete guide, organized by region.
The Record Holders
Highest point in the US: Denali, Alaska — 20,310 feet. Formerly called Mount McKinley, Denali is not just the highest point in the US but in all of North America. It rises from a base elevation of roughly 2,000 feet, giving it a greater vertical relief than Mount Everest (which rises from a 17,000-foot plateau).
Lowest point in the US: Badwater Basin, Death Valley, California — 282 feet below sea level. This salt flat in Inyo County sits in a graben (a block of crust that dropped between two faults) and is the lowest point in all of North America. Remarkably, it is only 84 miles from Mount Whitney (14,505 ft), the highest point in the contiguous 48 states.
Smallest elevation range: Florida — Britton Hill at 345 feet is the state's highest point, and its lowest is sea level. That 345-foot range is the smallest of any state, a consequence of sitting on a flat limestone platform.
The West: Peaks Above 10,000 Feet
The western states dominate the elevation charts. The Rocky Mountains, Sierra Nevada, and Cascade Range push high points well above 10,000 feet. Here are the notable peaks:
Alaska: Denali, 20,310 ft. California: Mt. Whitney, 14,505 ft. Colorado: Mt. Elbert, 14,440 ft. Washington: Mt. Rainier, 14,411 ft. Wyoming: Gannett Peak, 13,809 ft. Hawaii: Mauna Kea, 13,796 ft (measured from the ocean floor, Mauna Kea exceeds Everest). Utah: Kings Peak, 13,534 ft. New Mexico: Wheeler Peak, 13,167 ft. Nevada: Boundary Peak, 13,147 ft. Montana: Granite Peak, 12,807 ft. Idaho: Borah Peak, 12,668 ft. Arizona: Humphreys Peak, 12,637 ft. Oregon: Mt. Hood, 11,249 ft.
Colorado alone has 58 peaks above 14,000 feet (the famed "fourteeners"). The state's lowest point — the Arikaree River at 3,315 feet — is higher than the highest point in 18 other states.
The Midwest & Plains: Deceptive Flatness
The Great Plains states appear flat, but their high points can surprise. The western edges of Kansas, Nebraska, and the Dakotas benefit from the gradual slope rising toward the Rockies.
South Dakota: Black Elk Peak (Harney Peak), 7,244 ft. North Dakota: White Butte, 3,506 ft. Nebraska: Panorama Point, 5,424 ft (a gentle rise in a cow pasture — no summit experience). Kansas: Mt. Sunflower, 4,039 ft (also in a field, with a hand-painted sunflower sign). Iowa: Hawkeye Point, 1,670 ft. Minnesota: Eagle Mountain, 2,301 ft. Missouri: Taum Sauk Mountain, 1,772 ft. Wisconsin: Timms Hill, 1,951 ft. Michigan: Mt. Arvon, 1,979 ft. Illinois: Charles Mound, 1,235 ft. Indiana: Hoosier Hill, 1,257 ft. Ohio: Campbell Hill, 1,550 ft.
The lowest points across the Midwest are mostly rivers: the Mississippi in many cases, or the Ohio, Missouri, and their tributaries. Louisiana's lowest point — New Orleans at -8 feet — is one of only two states (with California) that dip below sea level.
The East: Ancient Mountains
The Appalachian Mountains are far older than the Rockies — roughly 480 million years compared to 80 million. Erosion has worn them down, but they still define eastern geography.
North Carolina: Mt. Mitchell, 6,684 ft (highest east of the Mississippi). Tennessee: Clingmans Dome, 6,643 ft. Virginia: Mt. Rogers, 5,729 ft. New Hampshire: Mt. Washington, 6,288 ft (notorious for extreme weather — wind speeds recorded at 231 mph). Vermont: Mt. Mansfield, 4,395 ft. Maine: Mt. Katahdin, 5,268 ft (northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail). New York: Mt. Marcy, 5,344 ft. West Virginia: Spruce Knob, 4,863 ft. Georgia: Brasstown Bald, 4,784 ft. Kentucky: Black Mountain, 4,145 ft. Pennsylvania: Mt. Davis, 3,213 ft. South Carolina: Sassafras Mountain, 3,560 ft.
The South & Coastal Plains
Southern and coastal states tend to have the lowest high points, because they sit on flat coastal plains or sedimentary basins.
Florida: Britton Hill, 345 ft (the lowest state high point in the nation). Delaware: Ebright Azimuth, 448 ft. Louisiana: Driskill Mountain, 535 ft (not really a mountain — a hill in the north). Mississippi: Woodall Mountain, 806 ft. Alabama: Cheaha Mountain, 2,413 ft. Texas: Guadalupe Peak, 8,751 ft (much higher than most expect — it's in the far west, at the edge of the Chihuahuan Desert). Arkansas: Magazine Mountain, 2,753 ft. Oklahoma: Black Mesa, 4,975 ft (in the panhandle, far from the rest of the state's geography).
New England & Mid-Atlantic
Connecticut: Mt. Frissell (south slope), 2,380 ft. Massachusetts: Mt. Greylock, 3,491 ft. Rhode Island: Jerimoth Hill, 812 ft. New Jersey: High Point, 1,803 ft. Maryland: Backbone Mountain, 3,360 ft.
Rhode Island and Delaware compete for the title of flattest eastern state. Rhode Island's highest point is only 812 feet, but its terrain is hillier than Delaware's pancake-flat coastal plain.
Surprising Elevation Facts
Only two states have points below sea level: California (Badwater Basin, -282 ft) and Louisiana (New Orleans, -8 ft). Delaware's lowest point is sea level along the coast, as is true for every Atlantic and Gulf state.
Colorado's lowest point is higher than 18 states' highest points. The Arikaree River valley at 3,315 feet exceeds the high points of Florida, Delaware, Louisiana, Mississippi, Rhode Island, Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Oklahoma (barely).
California holds both records for the contiguous 48: Mt. Whitney (14,505 ft) and Badwater Basin (-282 ft), separated by only 84 miles as the crow flies.
Explore More State Geography
Elevation is just one dimension of state geography. Our Fast Facts pages cover demographics, agriculture, health, national parks, and climate data for all 50 states — all sourced from federal APIs. Test your knowledge of where states sit on the map with Just States, or take on the daily GeoProwl challenge where real data powers every clue.